


Miss Magnolia

by Asdrator



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Angst, F/M, Fencing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26573566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asdrator/pseuds/Asdrator
Summary: In this Victorian-era Pokemon au, Sonia hasn’t seen Leon in years, not since a mysterious incident in their friendship. When she accepts a job as a tutor for Leon’s little brother Hop to avoid meeting suitors, she unexpectedly meets her old friend, now a fencing champion, once again. Only time will tell what the result of this will be.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Sonia
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

How many years had it been, she wondered, since last they met? How much had changed about him? He was taller of course, and more muscular, with longer hair. However, those were all obvious changes. What she meant was, was he still the same person he was back then, or was he different entirely now? Did he even still remember her?

These were the thoughts going through Sonia’s head as she read the letter from Leon’s mother, which concluded by offering her a job as a tutor. She needed a job badly, true, lest her gran set her up with more awful meetings with suitors she lacked any interest in. The real question was whether this one was worth facing Leon again after all these years, and facing her old feelings for him by extension. As she felt her face flush, she pressed the letter against her chest. Arceus, she was really going to have to go through with it, wasn’t she? The last thing she wanted was gran deciding to buy her a wedding dress to encourage her to move things along. If only she wasn’t 24 and unmarried, if only things were less pressing… but there was no time left to dawdle and see if a better opportunity came up.

After calling for a maidservant, Sonia got into her best dress with her help- she had always hated these things, had found them frustrating to move in, in addition to being a constant reminder of what she had lost because of expectations of being ‘ladylike’ in Galar- and set out in a carriage for Postwick. It wasn’t far, but she had always found carriage rides soothing, and it beat walking in this outfit. The ride ended much too soon for Sonia’s liking, but nevertheless she thanked the driver as she stepped out and asked him to inform her gran where she had gone. Alone, she walked up to the front door of the manor of Leon’s family- she still couldn’t think of them any other way, she had never thought of them in any way except in relation to him ever since she was a child- which might have been intimidating to an ordinary person, except Sonia came from s house about the same size, even setting aside that she’d been here a bunch as a little girl. With a moment’s hesitation and a deep breath, she knocked once, twice, three times on the heavy wooden front doors.

The boy who opened the door looked similar to the Leon she had once known, though not nearly the same. “Hello, how can I- oh, Miss Sonia? Haven’t seen you in a while.” It was then that she realized that this must be Hop; she hadn’t spoken to him much back when she still visited Leon here, but even when he was first learning to speak, she had known that Hop had a very good memory. That, and the fact that he had probably been told to expect her, probably went a long way to his recognition. “Hello to you too, Hop. I came to accept the offer of employment that was mailed to me. Where is your mother, if I may ask?” Sonia asked as she ruffled his hair.

“She’s out in the garden. I’ll go and get her, please make yourself at home in the meantime!” As he dashed off, she couldn’t help but giggle as she walked inside and closed the door behind her. He sure was energetic, even by the standards of kids his age. Finding a seat in the living room- one of the living rooms, anyway- she let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. At least Leon wasn’t here. That would make the situation go from awkward to downright embarrassing. Noticing a photo on the table next to her, she realized it was a younger Leon posing with his rapier after winning a match. Despite herself, Sonia thought back to those simpler times.

_ Leon and Sonia sat together against a wall, covered in sweat after a close match- which, however, Leon had won as always. He was known as a rising star in the sport for a reason, after all. “You did great, Sonia.” Leon told her with a wide grin, and she felt a now-familiar flutter in her heart. “If we keep practicing like this, I’m sure you’ll beat me one day. No way you don’t.” Despite how tired she felt, Sonia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “No way I could ever beat you, more like. You’re just trying to flatter me.” And it was working, though she didn’t say that part out loud. “No, I mean it!” Leon insisted with a friendly laugh. “You have so much skill, they’ll have to let you compete even though you’re a girl. I’m sure of it.” When Leon was sure of something, he was usually right, or at least was stubborn enough to make himself right. So, for once, Sonia allowed herself to have some hope of becoming a fencer alongside him. _

_ Hope, however, is easily crushed. _

As Sonia continued staring at the photo, Hop entered the room from another to its side, followed by his and Leon’s mother. She was a gentle lady who usually had a very kind look on her face, and Sonia felt herself almost overcome by nostalgia upon seeing her. “H-hello, madame. I came here as soon as I could to-“ The older woman laughed lightly, and though Sonia felt her cheeks turn red, she couldn’t help but crack a small smile. It was hard to be unhappy when she was happy; that was the kind of woman their mother was. “Don’t worry about all that, dearest Sonia. I knew you had decided to accept the offer the second Hop told me you had arrived.” She was a perceptive woman, it seemed, to the same extent that Hop had a good memory. “I just hope you’ve been eating healthy and taking good care of yourself. By the way, are you married, or engaged to be married? Your grandmother and I haven’t spoken much lately, but last I heard she was trying to find you a husband who could make you happy.”

Her blush spreading to the tips of her ears, Sonia shook her head no. She didn’t see what this had to do with being a tutor, but she supposed that Leon’s mother deserved to know a little about her, and she couldn’t exactly afford to be picky besides. “I, I am still unwed and unengaged. Haven’t found the right man, that’s all.” In truth she was a little insulted that nobody had asked her if it was a man she wanted to be with in the first place, though she didn’t actually mind either way, or rather wouldn’t were it not for societal expectations. It was just the principle of the matter. The eyes of Leon’s mother widened slightly. “What a coincidence! Leon has turned down all proposals as well.” A moment passed and Sonia’s heart skipped a beat. Leon? Why would he turn down proposals of marriage? Surely his reason wasn’t the same as hers, he was too good for that. “Ah, my apologies, I’m not suggesting that the two of you should wed. I am simply remarking on what a coincidence it is, between the wealth of you both and how attractive you both are that neither of you have found the right person for yourselves yet.” Their mother explained. Sonia, however, found that she did not feel any less awkward about this line of questioning; she truly was a dangerously perceptive woman. “You really are such a beautiful young woman, you know; by all appearances, men should be lining up across the region to ask for your hand.”

“I… thank you, for your kind words. However, if I may, am I truly good enough for the job, or should I look elsewhere?” With any luck, Sonia thought, she could at least change the subject. “Oh! My apologies, my dear Sonia. Of course you are, it’s all yours.” The older lady smiled apologetically. Sonia let out a small breath she didn’t even know she had been holding, as their mother continued. “Your duties are to teach Hop here and his friend Gloria the arts and the humanities. I already know from your grandmother your skills, so feel free to come up with whatever learning plan you feel is best suited to the job.” That she would be teaching somebody besides Hop came as a surprise; Sonia wondered just what kind of person this Gloria was. Did she come from wealth, and had come to know Hop from family connections? Yet Sonia had a strange feeling that that wasn’t the case, and she couldn’t remember the last time one of her strange feelings had been wrong. Either way, with Gloria as her pupil, she would be finding out soon enough.

The older woman handed Sonia a set of keys to the house and turned to leave. “I have to go back to attending to my garden now, but Hop here will take you to your room. You start tomorrow, and I wish you the best of luck.” Sonia nodded, staring at the keys in her hand, when suddenly she was startled a few seconds later by one last revelation. “Oh, Sonia!” Leon’s mother turned around, wide-eyed as though she had forgotten something, though the mischievous grin on her face hinted that she hadn’t forgotten a thing. “One last thing I should tell you: Leon comes home to stay for vacation starting tomorrow too! That’s all, take care now!”

Arceus, Sonia thought, had a sick and twisted sense of humor.

—————————————————————

She was as prepared as she could be for Leon’s, Sonia supposed, which is to say that she wasn’t prepared much at all. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too awkward and would be over with soon. Three loud knocks came at the door first, and both Hop and his mother rushed to the door, knowing already who was there. Unable to hide his eagerness, Hop all but bounced as he opened the door to make way. Sonia watched, almost afraid to look but unwilling to tear her eyes away.

The man that entered was even more impressive than the boy she had once known by his mere appearance. This Leon had broad shoulders, a muscular chest, and stylish purple hair down to his back. He dressed in a fashionable outfit that would only add to his appeal to most- though, Sonia couldn’t help but immediately notice, he looked a little uncomfortable in it. Fancy suits never had been his style, even if he looked amazing in them. The most eye catching thing about him however, as always, was his winning smile, something that somebody who knew him less well might think was permanently stuck on his face. 

Sonia knew better, though.

In the time they had spent together, she had seen him show his sadness, and sympathy, and boredom, and, rarely, his frustration. He never got frustrated about much, but whenever he had, usually about some guy who had been a jerk to him, he had confided in her, and let all his irritation show, even if it was over something silly and she couldn’t help but laugh. They had had that sort of closeness, the sort only experienced by people who valued each other over themselves. If they were to talk now, would he still let his true self show for her eyes only, she wondered? Was that easy friendship a thing of the past, or something more enduring than time itself?

She let her lonely thoughts be for the moment and turned her attention back to Leon and his family. He had picked up Hop in a giant hug wjile she had been thinking, she realized, and now he was moving to embrace his mother. It was now or never, she decided. Walking up as carefully and formally as she could, she watched as Leon let go of his mother and turned to look at her. It was difficult to do while meeting his eyes, difficult not to call out his name and embrace him too and reunite with him as friends should. She was a lady now, though, as people kept reminding her, so she forced down that feeling and performed a perfect curtsy. “Hello, Leon.” She said to him, her voice even. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

A moment passed, then another, as his brow furrowed and he clearly tried to remember how he knew this strange young woman. Then the realization hit him.

“Sonia?!”

—————————————————————

After spending some time with his family, Leon agreed to join Sonia for a walk in the park so that they might catch up. It was an unusual walk, to be sure, with more than a few people gawking at Leon just being there with her. So this was what celebrity felt like; suddenly, she envied Leon just a little less. She’d hate to be observed like some sort of zoo animal. Leon seemed to take it in stride though, even the person who asked if Sonia was his fiancée, much to her utter embarrassment.

“So, to sum it up, you’re working as a tutor because you don’t want to get married yet, and happened to be there when I arrived by coincidence?” Leon asked her patiently. That surprised Sonia; she had expected some repulsion, some judgement for her aversion to getting married. Maybe she shouldn’t be so surprised though. Even when they had been kids, Leon had been more understanding than most adults she knew.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” Sonia sighed in relief. “Er, not to say I don’t enjoy teaching children or anything. I do, believe me. It’s just, if it hadn’t been for my circumstances I probably wouldn’t have accepted your mother’s offer in particular.”

This made Leon frown. “Well why not? Do you have something against her?”

“No, not at all!” Sonia exclaimed hastily. “It’s just…” Her voice became much quieter. “I didn’t know if I could handle seeing you again.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Leon seeming to consider his next words. “Well, you seem to be performing beyond expectations in that regard, to be completely honest. I know it must have been hard on you, but… you handled meeting me again with a certain grace unique to you. That sort of ability is why you were my rival, you know?”

That made Sonia chuckle, which came as a surprise to Leon. “What? What’s so funny? I’m being serious, you know.” He grumbled, though he couldn’t quite hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Ah, how she’d missed this. “Sorry, Leon, it’s just- I was so scared of meeting you again, yet here we are, having slipped back easily into our old routine. You know?” It was… refreshing, though more than that it was such a relief.

Leon really didn’t hate her after all.

“No need to apologize!” Leon said, cheerfully as ever. “I’m just happy that I could make you happy.” An awkward moment passed between the two of them, until finally Leon broke it by standing up and offering her his hand. “Then, shall we head back?” Leon asked her with a lopsided grin. Arceus, was she ever in love with that grin. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss that grin until the day ran out.

She couldn’t, though. Never could, never would.

So, instead, she placed her hand in his outstretched one and flashed a fake smile. “Yes. Let’s.”

—————————————————————

“...And that’s the end of today’s lesson. Any further questions to help you understand?” It was the next morning, and she’d just gotten through Hop and Gloria’s lessons. Now that she’d met Gloria, she had some idea how they became friends so fast. She was from a middling family living in a small house a short walk away, and had great confidence in herself as well as a strong decisiveness to her. Very unlike Sonia at her age. She still wondered how somebody like Gloria had even met Hop, or gotten his family to pay for tutoring for her too.

Gloria’s hand shot up like a needle, and Sonia sighed. “Yes, Gloria?” She reluctantly asked, already knowing the likely question.

“Can you repeat all that? I didn’t catch a single thing!” She grinned without an ounce of shame. It was similar to the grin Leon had, a charming, winning grin, though a little different. Gloria’s was less reserved, less tempered by experience with the world. Like a younger Leon, then. No more attentive, either. It was interesting just how different Hop and Leon’s taste in friends was, but the brothers never had been that similar.

“That was an hour long lecture, Gloria, so no. You’re telling me you didn’t listen to any of it at all?” Sonia asked, though she could already tell from the look in Gloria’s eyes that that was indeed the case. “No, don’t answer that. Hop, would you mind sharing your notes with her?”

“Sure thing, Ms Magnolia.” Hop answered with a similar, though notably different, cheer to Leon’s. There was a certain sadness to it that she couldn’t quite place. Though the only thing that made her feel sad was that she was old enough now that children referred to her as ‘Ms.’

Sonia sat down at her desk as the two children walked out of the room, Gloria looking over Hop’s shoulder at his notebook as he tried to get her to understand what Sonia had taught them, probably with limited success. Still, it wasn’t like she could blame him for trying; she was going to try her very best to teach Gloria too, because that was what a teacher did. Besides, she could see that Gloria had the ability to succeed at anything she wanted to do in life if she just put her mind to it. She was again much like Leon in that way. Which meant she was very, very much unlike Sonia.

Was this really the sort of life Sonia had been hoping for all those years ago? No, definitely not. Then, what had she wanted?


	2. Chapter 2

It was the same old routine as any other day that Sonia found herself fortunate enough to wake up in. Get up, open the curtains, stretch a bit, get dressed (which took forever, the dresses upper class women were expected to wear were simply ludicrous, but Sonia had long since grown used to that), and then finally mentally prepare herself for the day. A task bordering on impossible, and yet every day she accomplished. She really was an amazing person, Sonia thought to herself. Perhaps everybody should leave determining what’s proper and what isn’t up to her, since she’s so good at impossible things. Then again, more work was really the last thing she wanted. Only the selfless and the mad wanted to do more work than they ha d to. She was big enough to admit she wasn’t the former and why anyone might believe she might be the latter was beyond her.

Seeing the time on the clock in her bedroom, Sonia realized she needed to get to it or she would be late, so she turned to the door with a heavy sigh and opened her door to head downstairs to join the family of the manor for breakfast. 

Or, she tried to at least. Instead, the door stopped when it hit something solid, and a yelp of pain came from the other side. Sonia blinked twice, shut the door again, then opened it again when she heard footsteps moving away from the door. Trying again, she opened it this time to find Leon in casual attire, holding his foot in his hands while kneeling before her and muttering curses under his breath. Despite herself, Sonia just laughed at the sight, causing Leon to look up at her with an unamused face. If he were any younger, she’d say it looked like he was pouting, but as it was he was more handsome than he was cute so the term didn’t fit. “Yeah, yeah, very funny.” Quickly apologizing (though she was struggling to not laugh further, and she knew he wasn’t actually mad), she offered him a hand to help him stand up, which he gladly took. Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to do much of the lifting thanks to Leon’s strength, for if she had she might have fallen down herself.

“Why were you by my door anyway?” She asked, henuinely curious. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with mischief. “You weren’t… trying to catch a peak, were you?” Leon’s horrified and embarrassed face made her stifle a laugh once again.

“No! Of course not. My mom sent me to check on you and make sure you got up on time for breakfast, that’s all. Though, I don’t quite know why she didn’t make Hop do it instead.” Leon replied, his hand on the back of his neck. Same old Leon, never perfect when it came to proper manners but charming enough that almost everybody forgave him for that. Even her grandmother had a soft spot for him; he was just that sort of easy to like person, she supposed.

“I see… that was very kind of her, I’ll be sure to thank her.” Sonia said with a bright smile on her face. Though, in a corner of her mind, she too wondered why Hop or Gloria hadn’t been sent, both of them being her pupils and staying for much longer than Leon was. Was Leon’s mother up to something, perhaps?

“Then, shall we head downstairs?” Leon said, shaking her out of her thoughts with that lopsided grin of his.

Turning towards the stairs with a nod, she looked over her shoulder and motioned for Leon to follow her. “Yes, let’s do that.”

—————————————————————

As they descended the stairs, they saw that Gloria, Hop, and Hop and Leon’s mother already sat at the table. Hop was clearly struggling between his proper manners and his desire to start breakfast already, while Gloria made no attempt to hide it. Shaking her head with a small smile, Sonia waved to them; she’d let them be for now. There was always time to instruct them later. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she bowed slightly to the lady of the house. “I’d like to thank you once again for the opportunity you gave me.” She told her formally, but certainly sincerely. Leon moved past her with a smile to his mother and took a seat at the table.

“It’s not a problem in the slightest, my dear.” The older woman laughed with a warm grin. However, when her eyes took on a mischievous glint just as Sonia’s had earlier, Sonia knew she was in trouble. “By the way, did you appreciate the… gift I sent you?”

Initially, Sonia was puzzled by her meaning. Then it hit her. “Oh!” She couldn’t help but gasp and blush, causing Leon to look up at her quizzically. So that was why the mother of the boys had sent up Leon instead of Hop. That devious old…!

Before Sonia could finish that thought while at the height of her embarrassment, Leon pulled out the chair next to him and grinned at her. “Are you going to sit down? Your food’s getting cold, you know.”

With a decidedly unladylike roll of her eyes, Sonia sat down in the chair and picked up the knife and fork before her, her cheeks still tinted red. “I know that, you don’t need to remind me.” She muttered barely loud enough for thevtable to hear. Leon just shrugged and began to eat with the rest of the table, but Sonia noticed that Gloria had paused and was staring at her with a troubled frown. No, it couldn’t be… between Leon being sent for her and her embarrassment at the comment of Hop and Leon’s mother, Gloria must be putting two and two together and figuring out she had a crush on Leon! Arceus, this was humiliating. “Something I can help you with, Gloria dear? It’s rude to stare, you know.” Sonia asked, perhaps a bit too sweetly. Gloria just shrugged and turned back to her food. “Nothin’, sorry.” The girl quickly apologized and began to eat. Though Gloria stayed quiet if she had noticed anything, Sonia couldn’t help but get the feeling now that the young girl was far more perceptive than she let on.

The rest of the dinner went quite uneventfully, with the exception of Leon occasionally slipping into poor manners and being gently reminded by his mom, or Hop and Gloria excitedly talking about where they planned to explore once they had some free time, though Sonia thought it a wonder that they hadn’t already run out of new things to do outside. Then again, Leon and herself had been much the same.

—————————————————————

_ Once again, Sonia found herself defeated by Leon. He really was a truly talented individual, she had known that for a few years now, so it wasn’t surprising or anything. Even so… if she could win against him, just once… _

_ No, even then the other fencing students wouldn’t respect. No matter how many times she won against them, no matter how much greater her skill clearly was compared to theirs, simply the fact that Leon could defeat her made them confident that women weren’t meant for the sport in the first place. Defeating Leon once wouldn’t change this fact; simply having lost to him at all had simply cemented the beliefs they had already held. _

_ Out of nowhere, she found a hand in front of her, and she looked up to find that it belonged to none other than Leon himself. “C’mon, you did great! I’m sure you’ll get me next time.” He said with that wild grin of his, and she couldn’t detect the faintest hint of insincerity in his voice. Though still bewildered, she took his hand with both of hers and was pulled to her feet. _

_ As Leon walked off to go challenge someone else, Sonia only stared after him. Did he really believe that she could be better than him? What was the source of his endless faith in all people? While she wondered all this and more, Instructor Mustard called out to her, and she realized that she needed to get back to training. Still, that one interaction made her begin to wonder… just why did Leon strike her down with one hand only to help her up with the other? What exactly did he want from her? Sonia had known him since they had been in diapers, albeit they had never been close enough to be considered friends, and she still couldn’t figure it out. It couldn’t hurt, then, to interact with him more often, and try to figure everything out for herself. _

_ At the time, Sonia hadn’t known it, but that was the beginning of her rivalry with Leon, through which they would grow closer and closer and then eventually drift apart due to an unfortunate circumstance. That is not a story for now, however. _

_ For now, nothing more can be explained. _

—————————————————————

On a clear afternoon in a small forest nearby the manor, Hop and Gloria were play fighting with sticks and enjoying each other’s company, while Sonia leaned against a tree and read a newspaper while pretending to keep an eye on them. Ok, so she wasn’t pretending to keep an eye on them, she was actually incredibly interested and only pretending to read the paper, but she’d sooner meet Arceus than admit that. There was just something about Gloria that made her want to keep watching, a certain ability to keep people in awe of her. It was the same sort of skill Leon had, a part of the reason for his rise to fame. Combined with her seemingly natural understanding of swordplay, with her continually hitting Hop’s vitals (though to his credit Hop always laughed it off and tried again), Sonia knew that in another world, a fair world, the girl would make an excellent fencer.

This was not a fair world, however.

Sonia found herself interrupted from her thoughts by something gently hitting the top of her head, and she looked to her other side to see Leon, grinning and holding two cups of coffee, one of them in a hand outstretched to indicate it was for her. “So you think she’s quite interesting too, do you? Always knew you had an eye for a good athlete.”

“Hmpf. I have no idea where you got that idea from. I’m simply keeping an eye on my student, that’s all.” Sonia told him, absolutely refusing to admit it purely out of stubbornness. “...That said…” She continued, her voice now much more serious. “Supposing I did have an interest in her abilities, and this is only hypothetical, do you really think she’d stand a chance as a fencer?”

“Hmm. Well, it’s hard to say.” Thankfully for her, Leon hadn’t made any more smart comments about her allegedly taking an interest in Gloria and her swordsmanship. “Unfortunately, with the way the world is, if she’s too successful the people who run the sport might ban her from competitions to prevent her from overturning their narrow minded notions of what a fencer can look like.” So it had been as she had thought then. Sonia let out a sigh and looked towards Gloria pityingly. “Hey now, I said it was hard to say, not impossible.” That caught Sonia by surprise. Was he saying that…? “It’d be difficult for sure, but I think with her leading the way, there’s a real chance for women to become renowned fencers.” His smile was no longer that charming grin, instead a small, fond smile, aimed entirely at Sonia. “Don’t give up so easily. People aren’t that weak.”

For the first time in several years, Sonia felt renewed hope for the sport she loved so dearly. “I… see.” She didn’t know what else to say, couldn’t say anything else. Hope had become such an unfamiliar feeling, yet it was as comforting as seeing an old friend again.

“That’s not what I came to speak to you about though.” Leon said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly and not meeting her eyes. Was he embarrassed? “I’m leaving again at the end of this week, and my mother is holding a ball to see me off. I’m not really comfortable dancing with most people though, so I was wondering if… you’d be willing to accompany me when the time comes?”

Oh. Well that was unexpected. Never in a million years had Sonia expected Leon to get this flustered about her. She rather liked it, though; he was cute when he blushed.

“Yes, I’d be delighted to.”

—————————————————————

_ All this time, all this effort, all these tears, wasted. All because she was a girl, and girls couldn’t be allowed to have any measure of real success. _

_ Chairman Rose had issued the decision that she would not be allowed to compete in the tournament, what would have been her first real tournament, ‘in order to protect the fairer sex.’ It was a poor excuse, and anyone with half a brain saw right through it. Sadly, even many of those who did agreed with the decision even so, and those who did not lacked the power to try and change it. _

_ Leon had been one of those who opposed it, and Leon had won the tournament, but even in the face of his repeated requests the Chairman continued to prohibit Sonia from competing. Oh, Leon. Why couldn’t he just accept that this was the way the world was, that there was no changing that? _

_ It was why she loved him, though. It hadn’t been long since she had realized that she did, but she was sure of it. Ever since, she had planned to confess her feelings to him after the tournament, win or lose. Now, thanks to worthless prejudice, she would never get the chance. _

_ All she could do now was watch as Leon defeated his opponent- Raihan, she thinks- in a close but ultimately decisive match. All she could do was observe where Leon and Raihan could have done better, what she would have done had she been in their place, and realize that these minor errors were too few and far between. They deserved to be there more than she did. Just as everybody thought, she never would have won against them, especially not Leon. She wasn’t worthy of continuing to be Leon’s rival, let alone telling him how she felt; he deserved somebody who could stand on equal ground with him for either. _

_ And so the curtains fell on Sonia’s fencing training, and with it, her friendship with Leon at the time. _

_ As you already know, however, that was not the end of their story together. _

_ ————————————————————— _

Sonia felt like she had spent hours getting ready for the ball. Considering how much time she had spent picking out her finest dress, dealing with her hair, and putting on her makeup, she very might have (not to mention the time she had spent beforehand helping Gloria get ready and teasing the girl about her obvious crush on Hop). Looking at herself in the mirror though, she knew it was going to be  _ so _ worth it. She had just finished preparing when a knock came at her door. “Ah, Leon! Just one second!” Rushing to the door as fast as she could manage it, Sonia opened it, more carefully this time (just in case).

Fortunately, Leon had the good sense to stand further back this time, and what a sight he was! Dressed in a formal suit, with thin gloves covering his muscular hands and tidy hair (or as tidy as hair like his could get), he was the very definition of handsome. Sonia knew she must have done a good job dressing herself up too, though, because Leon was blushing just as hard as she imagined she must be. Managing a sincere smile for once, she reached her hand out, and immediately Leon bowed and pressed his lips softly against her knuckles. “Then, it looks like you’re all set.” He said, though Sonia noticed a strange hint of nervousness in his voice.

“Of course! No way I could let you down. Come on, let’s go.”

He laughed at that, and though she rolled her eyes her smile grew wider, happy to have him happy. When his laughter subsided, he led her towards the ballroom, their hands intertwined.

At the ball she met so many people she hadn’t had a proper conversation with in years, such as Raihan and Nessa, and had fascinating conversations with plenty of people she’d never met, such as Kabu, Milo, Melony, and Piers. What a world, that Leon lived in, surrounded by so many accomplished people! And yet, why did she get the feeling that he existed alone? Whenever she tried to understand him, she felt as though she was blocked by walls of his own construction. For every step she took towards him, he went two steps back, without any indication of what would happen when he was forced off the field.

Whatever was going to happen to him, though, when his walls came crashing down, she would be there with him. That was what she had decided for herself, and once Sonia decided on something, she never gave up.

Guiding Leon out onto the balcony next to the ballroom, she let go of his hand and placed her other hand gently on his other arm. “Leon, are you feeling ok? You’ve been a little, I don’t know… off, this whole time.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Leon said after thinking a moment. “I just was thinking about how I’m going to leave tomorrow, and how I might not get to see you again.” Her heart skipped a beat. “I want to see you again, Sonia, and I’m afraid of you leaving my life again. It isn’t complete without you in it.”

“You…” Sonia bit her lip, her face bright red. “Oh, you big dummy. Lean down for a second.” He did so, looking a little confused. She grabbed his head between her hands and placed a kiss right on his lips. After a few seconds, she broke it off and looked him in the eyes. “Do you get now how I feel about being in your life?”

“I…” Leon gulped, clearly very flustered. “Arceus, you’re beautiful.” Sonia pinched his ear, and he laughed despite the pain. “I mean, of course I get it. But are you sure you want to be with- with me?”

“Ask me that again and I’ll slap you. Of course I do, I love you Leon.”

“I’m going to marry you, one day.”

That brought a smile to her face. “Take me out to dinner first, else gran won’t approve.”

“As you wish,” Leon replied, placing another kiss on her cheek. “Now and forever.”

When she looked at him now, she no longer thought of what might have been. Sonia only marvelled at what was going to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 might not arrive for a while, but I promise it’ll be published before 2021. Just hang tight.


End file.
